I woke up this morning, feeling pain similar to what I went through the Fall/Winter of 2020.
It unnerved me.
I can't be consistently laid up with leg pain that keeps me flat on my back when it hits with a vengeance.
I can’t afford to be handicapped.
I am a woman living alone – a senior woman; with no one checking on me, on a regular basis.
My life has got to be functionable.
My life has got to have a quality of life to it.
I have plans that do not include a bum leg.
Assisted Living is not for me!
I called Lakefront Clinic and made an appointment to be seen at 2:10 PM.
Dr. Landry is still out on maternity leave, so I was assigned a new Dr.; Dr. Weeks. I have never liked sitting in doctor’s waiting rooms – having spent so much time in this particular waiting room when Bob was so ill those Fall months before he went into the hospital and never came out alive, again … has made waiting to be called to my clinic cubicle, more complicated. I really had to focus on ‘maintaining’.
Before Dr. Weeks actually {saw} me, his assistant came I to take my vitals (aside from my temperamental leg, my vitals are where they need to be, at my age).
The attending nurse thought perhaps I had sprained a muscle or two, doing exercises and hiking: that is not what is causing the pain – I exercise and walk every day … my body is used to that; and I’ve even cut those things back some.
The pain is generated by something else.
Every one of my parents, and siblings, used drugs – and they ruined their lives, and health. I do not want to get started down that path!
When Dr. Weeks did finally show up, he didn’t seem concerned with my exercise regime, or my hikes. But, his questions did raise more concerns.
The underlying issue is still questionable.
He seemed to think the root cause is that bulged disc in my back … or “a muscle issue called piriformis syndrome” – or, God forbid, “a rare issue called cauda equina syndrome”: but for today, he settled on sciatica: and sent me home with prescriptions based on that diagnosis.
He told me that this inflammation (for whatever reason) will continue.
The pain can be controlled with pharmaceuticals, or with herbals – I choose herbals. He suggested ginger shots made with ginger and vinegar (premade/sold, or homemade); and turmeric capsules; these I can get at the health food store in town.
And if the pain relief doesn’t start responding as it should, the situation may warrant further investigation to ferret out a more satisfactory diagnosis.
But I am not going to dwell on any of it: if things get worse, or go south fast – then, I’ll deal with those concerns.
I am not going to torture myself with the shadowy ‘what if’s’.
For the time being, I’ll swallow more prednisone tablets (and a new one, Flexeril).
The new one will be swallowed at bedtime, because it causes drowsiness.
And maybe I won’t use it at all because of my arrhythmic heart beat (1-2-3-SKIP A BEAT -1,2,3 …). While it is true that death can’t be avoided in life: we don’t need to actively court it.
I’ll call the clinic tomorrow morning and ask why Dr. Weeks prescribed a pill that is risky to use with hearts like mine (the pharmacist was no help at all).
Aging is not for sissies!
On a brighter note: I opened my mailbox upon returning to home turf, and saw that my package of seeds has arrived 😊
Now, I just need my leg to get better; so I can plant them. The garden beds Bob built and placed for me here, rest on bulky river rock in the back yard – and chunky lava rock in the front yard.
God, help me …
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